"I know, I know. No more excuses - we've got deadlines and I need millions more to sign up. Especially those young, healthy Americans. How's that campaign going?"

"Not too well, sir. We've had a ton of tweets returned that aren't exactly in the Christmas spirit, if you know what I mean. It's tough to get young adults excited about their very own plan when they're still living in their parents' basements."

"See? That's the problem with this country. Americans are spoiled. Well, the days of two cars in every garage are over. And that's a good thing - they just don't know it yet. Now patch in some more subsidies and get these youngsters signed up."

"Yes, sir. But…"

"But what?"

"Seems like there may be more problems now than when we started, sir."

"How can that be?"

"Sabotage. You see, some of the nelves found out they weren't going to be able to keep the plan they had, some learned they couldn't keep their doctors and others found out their premiums were going to double."

"That's outrageous! Only inferior plans are canceled. If their doctors are out they'll get another one, maybe just as good, and if their costs go up it means they can afford it - they should count their blessings!" Pause. "Is…that…a poster…of…Edward Snowden?"

"Yes sir, the most famous nerd of all."

It's probably not going to be the best Christmas Barack Obama has ever had. His giant sleigh is weighted down with his behemothic gift to all Americans, the Affordable Care Act, inching forward ever so slowly, teetering and tipping precariously.

The majority of Americans would love to see it topple over, do a pirouette down an icy slope and come to rest at the bottom of a deep roadside ditch. Perhaps then we could get back to a bipartisan effort to design reforms that will improve not just our insurance, but our entire health care system.

My take on the ACA is very different than that of my Democratic friends (although many of them facing re-election are coming to understand the danger of supporting party policy in defiance of the public). Like most of them, I haven't read the tome and don't know whether or not it would benefit myself or family.

Benefits of the ACA are irrelevant - especially if you're in Congress and have received a presidential bye. But it's also irrelevant from a conservative viewpoint: The massive power shift to the federal government far outweighs any individual gains it might offer.

Even if it showered benefits on hundreds of millions of Americans (it does not), wielding that magnitude of power was never, and should never be, within the purview of the federal government. It is anathema to the vision of our Founding Fathers who abhorred the thought of a strong central authority.

Unfortunately, even in light of deceit and incompetence, there are many who still believe in the magic of Obama Claus.

Columnist Michael Raymond can be reached at mikejraymond@yahoo.com.

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